BELARUS
| CASE N° BLS/55 - VICTOR GONCHAR |
Resolution adopted by consensus by the IPU Governing Council at its 180th session
(Nusa Dua, Bali, 4 May 2007)*
The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,
Referring to the case of Mr. Victor Gonchar, a member of the Thirteenth Supreme Soviet of Belarus, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/180/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 179th session (October 2006),
Taking account of a report from the Prosecutor General's Office, dated 28 March 2007, conveyed to the Committee by the Belarusian delegation to the 116th Assembly,
Recalling that Mr. Victor Gonchar, then Deputy Speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet, disappeared together with his friend Anatoly Krasovsky on 16 September 1999 after visiting a sauna and has not reappeared since; an investigation for intentional homicide (Art. 101 of the Criminal Code as amended in 1960) was instituted and the results so far indicate that Mr. Krasovsky's car was stopped on leaving the sauna and that both men were abducted by unidentified persons and taken to an undisclosed location; the parliamentary authorities have consistently reported that all available leads have been followed, even those suggested by newspaper reports and other sources; however, the authorities have rejected as totally unfounded the detailed information contained in the report on disappearances for allegedly political reasons in Belarus, made public by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in February 2004 (Pourgourides report); the PACE Rapporteur had concluded that the information gathered led him "to believe that steps were taken at the highest level of the State actively to cover up the true background of the disappearances, and to suspect that senior State officials may themselves be involved in these disappearances",
Recalling that the Belarusian authorities have conveyed two documents prepared by the Office of the Prosecutor General setting out the reasons for their rejection of the Pourgourides report, and noting that the Committee has forwarded both documents to Mr. Pourgourides for any observations he may have,
Recalling further that, atthe hearing the Committee held with the Chairman of the Standing Committee on National Security and International Affairs of the Council of the Republic during the 115th Assembly (October 2006), he affirmed that none of the possible reasons - political, economic or personal - for the disappearance had been ruled out so far and that, although Mr. Gonchar and Mr. Krasovsky had clearly been abducted, it was unclear whether the target had been Mr. Gonchar or Mr. Krasovsky, as the latter had business-related problems and his wife, now living in the United States, had refused to appear for the investigation,
Considering that, in response to this, Mr. Krasovsky's wife stated that she had never received any invitation to testify, let alone refused to do so, and that she had fully cooperated with the first Prosecutor General in the case, but that his successor had declined to meet her and her lawyer,
Considering lastly that, in his report, the Prosecutor General confirms information provided earlier, and that the investigation has been extended to 24 June 2007,
- Thanks the parliamentary authorities for the information provided;
- Notes that, contrary to what the authorities affirm, Mrs. Krasovsky has never refused to testify and has cooperated with the prosecutor, and would appreciate receiving clarification in this respect from the authorities;
- Awaits with interest Mr. Pourgourides's comments on the document provided by the Belarusian authorities;
- Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 117th Assembly (October 2007).
* The delegation of Belarus expressed its reservation regarding the resolution.
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